.: Dark Chicago :.

Dark Arts Books has launched most of our titles at the annual World Horror Convention, and at the end of last month in Austin, TX, we debuted our seventh collection at the 2011 edition of WHC. Swallowed by the Cracks, featuring four stories each from Lee Thomas, Gary McMahon, S. G. Browne and Michael Marshall Smith, came back from the printer just a couple days before the con — it’s our largest collection ( 308 pages) and includes some of the best stories we’ve ever published!

Gary McMahon, S. G. Browne, John Everson at the Swallowed by the Cracks debut reading.

Lee Thomas, Gary McMahon and S. G. Browne were all in attendance at WHC 2011, and Swallowed by the Cracks co-editor John Everson was also on-hand to host a special debut reading by McMahon and Browne to launch the book.

Thanks to Martel Sardina for shooting most of the reading photos, and also thanks to Roy Robbins at Bad Moon Books for hosting a special Dark Arts Books section of his dealer’s room table so that we could display and sell our catalog of titles.

Do not look at anymore pictures from the convention (which get bigger if you click on them, by the way). Do not consider getting any Candy from a dumpster. Go get Swallowed.

Now.

If you need more than these words to provoke you, how about words from the book? S. G. Browne has posted an excerpt of one of his stories from Swallowed at his blog. Check out “Dr. Lullabye” now. And then… buy the book.

Assuming you now have the book in hand… here are a couple more photos from the convention:

And to help celebrate, take 50% off any other Dark Arts title when you pre-order SWALLOWED BY THE CRACKS by 26 April, 2011!

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW…
Life is fleeting. Things happen quickly. One moment you’re at the office, or maybe sitting in your living room; more of the same old, same old. And the next…You’re gone. Forever.

For the brave, sixteen tales of those sudden moments when life goes from light to dark, laughing to screaming, bad to worse. Scary to…unspeakable.

Four of horror’s brightest talents light up the corners, illuminate the shadows and show you–ready or not–what’s there in the dark, where if you’re not careful, you might end up SWALLOWED BY THE CRACKS.

Once again, we’ve assembled a killer lineup of top-notch talent–and they have delivered some amazing stories!

Gary McMahon, drawing favorable comparisons to Ramsey Campbell in his native England, shows just why in tales ranging from feverish nightmares (“The Ghost in You”) to coldly-calculated terror (“Creep”) and everything in between.

S.G. Browne, fresh from the success of his ingenious novels BREATHERS and FATED, explores male sexual fantasies run amok in “Dream Girls,” science run amok in “Dr. Lullaby,” a charming small town run amok in “Lower Slaughter,” and, perhaps most terrifying, a writer run amok in “Lord of Words.”

Michael Marshall Smith shows why he is an international sensation with pieces ranging thought-provoking (“REMTemps) to horrifying (“What Goes on in Their Minds”) to whimsical (“Dave 2 Beta 2″).

Another hugely enjoyable collection of the best dark fiction writing by today’s most talented authors, courtesy of your friends at Dark Arts Books.

And, as a bonus, if you pre-order SWALLOWED BY THE CRACKS by 26 April, 2011, you can get 50% off any of our other great titles: CANDY IN THE DUMPSTER, WAITING FOR OCTOBER, SINS OF THE SIRENS, LIKE A CHINESE TATTOO, MIGHTY UNCLEAN or WHEN THE NIGHT COMES DOWN!

Latest up are the fine folks at Black Abyss, with their review of WHEN THE NIGHT COMES DOWN. In addition to praising stories by each of the authors individually, they found NIGHT to be “an enjoyable read and recommended.” You can read the entire review here.